Rotary drying apparatus



April 20, 1926; 1,581,359

c. MILLER noun DRYING APPARATUS I Filed March 7, 925 2 She ets Sheet '1 g j a 1 INVENTOR c ammw, %ZM

ATTORNEY April 20 1926.

C. MILLER ROTARY DRYING APPARATUS 1925 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed March 7 mw f o BM N. J n: U! Q O :M H: u \x. b 0 O O Q q o 0 0 Q Q Q Q. v

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UNITED STATES CHARLES MILLER, 01: LONG ISLAND CITY, NEW YORK.

ROTARY DRYING APPARATUS.

Application filed March 7, 1925. Serial No. 13,764.

T 0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, CHARLES MILLER, .t citizen of the United States, and a resident of Long Island City, borough of Queens, in the county of Queens and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in a Rotary Drying Appara tus, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact specification.

This invention relates more particularly to a class of apparatus for use to facilitate the process of drying moistened articles.

My invention has for its object primarily to provide an apparatus wherein air is forced under pressure to circulate through a rotatable container or chamber in which the dampened uppers of footwear for persons and other moistened articles are arranged for making a great saving of the time usually consumed in the process of drying, and which is of a form suitable for use if desired in heated and unheated rooms of buildings and elsewhere as various articles and materials may require heat, while others may require air at normal temperature to effectually accomplish the drying process. The invention contemplates the provision of. a rotary container or chamber for receiving moistened articles to be dried by air. In the lower part of the container is an inlet, and at the upper part of the container may be one or a number of spaced outlets for discharge of air. At the inlet is a fan which serves as means to forceair into the container for circulation therethrough.

Other objects of the invention are to provide across the interior of the container spaced superposed shelves each having passages for holding articles to be dried; to provide in the container a separator for dividing the air into divisional currentsfor distribution through the container andthrough the passages of the shelves; and to provide a drying apparatus of a simple, efficient and durable construction which may be made in appropriate sizes and shapes.

With these and other objects in view, the invention will be hereinafter more fully'explained with reference to the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification in which similar characters of reference indicate corresponding parts mall the views, and will then be pointed out inthe claims at the end of the description. nt e drawi grF g e l is an e vat on which air from the chamber of one form of drying apparatus embodying my invention.

Fig. 2 is a top plan of the apparatus.

Fig. 3 isa sectional view, partly in eleva tion, taken through the apparatus.

Fig. 4 is a detail sectional view, partly broken away, taken on the line l& of Fig.

8, and

Fig. 5 is a sectional view, partly fragmentary and partly in elevation, showing a nodified form of the separator with the fan or blower used in the apparatus.

The drying apparatus has arotary chamber or container 10 which may be of any suitable shape, though the form of the container illustrated'has a cylindrical side wall 11, a bottom wall 12 and a top wall 13. The container 10 is of a size appropriate for holding the dampened lasted uppers of footwear for persons and for holding othermoist articles for being dried by air, and in part of the side wall 11 of the container is a door closable entrance 14 through which access to the interior of the container is obtained. In the central part of the bottom wall 12 of the container is an inlet 15 for admittlng air into the container, and in the upper wall 13 of the container may be one or a number of spaced outlets 16 through is discharged.

Across the interior of the container are a number of spaced superposed racks, as 19, on which are arranged the articles for being subjected to the drying process by air. These racks may be of any suitable forms. In the drawings the racks 18 are shown as each including rods or bars 20 disposed in spaced parallel relation to provide therebetween passages 21, and the racks 19 are shown as each in the form of a screen of wire or other suitable material which may be interwoven or intersticed to provide passages 22 therethrough. The racks may be supported on fixed annular brackets or ledges or flanges, as 23, which protrude from spaced parts of the inner face of the side wall 11 of the container, and in the container may be used either of the forms of racks or both forms may be employed as occasion requires.

Thecontainer 10 is rotatab-ly supported on a number of spaced standards, as 24:, of heights for suitably elevating the container, and these standards are preferablyv positioned under the outer edge portion of the bottom wall 12 of the container. On the upper part of each of the standards 24 may be an antifriction hearing or wheel, 25, and the container is arranged so that its bottom wall is revolvable, on these wheels for enabling the container to be easily driven, as will be hereinafter more fully explained.

At the inlet 15 of the container is a fan 26 for serving as means to force air under pressure into and through the container for facilitating the process of drying the contents of the container, and while this fan may be of any appropriate type, in the drawing the fan is shown as of any well known or preferred form of blower adapted to be opcratcd by an electrically driven motor, as 27. The casing 28 of the blower has its outlet, as 29, disposed in the inlet of the container so that the air from the blower will be delivered into the lower part or" the container.

In order to cause the air delivered from the blower or fan 26 to be circulated through all parts of the container, a separator, as 30, is provided for dividing the air into divisional currents. The separator 30 may be in the form of a plate, as 3.1, having spaced orifices 32 therethrough, and this plate is supported across the interior of the container 10 above the inlet 15 upon an annular bracket or flange 33 provided on the inner face of the side wall 11 of the container, or the separator 30, as shown in Fig. 5, may be in the form of a shell or casing or nozzle, as 34, of somewhat a cone-shape having its apex mounted on the free end of the outlet 29 of the casing 28 of the fan or blower 26 so that the casing 34 is disposed within the contamer 10 adjacent the bottom wall 12. In the side wall and top of the cone-shaped casing 34 are spaced orifices 35. hen the fan or blow .r 26 is operated by the driving of the motor 27 the air will be forced under pressure into the container for being divided into divisional currents by flowing through the orifices or" the plate 31 when employed in the container, or when the casing 34 is used the air will be divided into divisional currents by flowing through the orifices 35 of the casing 34. The currents of air will then be distributed to all parts of the interior of the container for passage through the racks 18 or 19 to effectually subject the contents of the container to the drying influence of the air, and to further cause the air to circulate in the container it may be rotated by mechanism, as 36.

The mechanism 36 my be of any suitable form, though the mechanism illustrated includes an annular rack 3? having its teeth disposed on a bevel, and this beveled annular toothed rack is provided at the outer edge part of the underside of the bottom wall 12 of the container. li/Eeshingwith the beveled toothed rack 37 is a beveled gear 38 held on one end of the drive shaft 39 of a motor 40 preferably of any well known type adapted to be operated by electricity from any suitable source of electrical energy. The motor 40 may be supported on a bracket, as 41, which is provided on one of the standards 24 of the container 10. Durin the delivery of the air into the container by the fan or blowor 26 the motor 40 may be operated for driving its shaft 39 and beveled gear 38 which in turn will revolve the container for causing thorough circulation of the currents of air therein prior to discharge of the air through the outlets 16 of the container. By regulating the speeds of the motors 40 and 27 the pressure and circulation of the air in the container maybe varied as occasion requires.

In the foregoing description, I have embodied the preferred form of my invention, but I do not wish to be understood as limiting myself thereto, as I am aware that inedifications may be made therein without departing from the principle or sacrificing any of the advantages of this invention, therefore, I reserve to myself the right to malre such changes as fairly fall within the scope thereof.

Having thus described my invention, 1 claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent 1. A drying apparatus, comprising a lo tary container with an outlet at its upper part and having at its lower part an inlet, and means in the inlet for forcing air into the chamber and for dividing the air intodivisional currents.

2. A drying apparatus, comprising a rotary container with an outlet at its upper part and having at its lower part an inlet, means for forcing air through the inlet into the chamber, and means in the chamber above the inlet for dividing the air into divisional currents.

3. A drying apparatus, comprising a r0- tary container with an outlet at its upper part and having at its lower part an inlet, a fan at the inlet for forcing air into the chamber, and means for dividing the air into divisional currents. L 4. A drying apparatus, comprising a rotary container with an outlet at its upper part and having at its lower part an inlet, a fan at the inlet for forcing airinto the chamber, and a separator in the chamber above the inlet for dividing the air into divisional currents.

5. A drying apparatus, comprising a rotary container having a substantially cylindrical wall with a door closable entrance, said container having in its upper end an outlet and having in its lower end an inlet, spaced superposed shelves across the interior of the container and each shelf having passages therethrough, means for forcing air through the inlet into the chamber, means in the chamber above the inlet for dividing the air into divisional currents, and power driven means for rotatlng the container.

6. A drying apparatus, comprising a rotary container having a substantially cylindrical Wall with a door closable entrance, said container having in its upper end an outlet and having in its lower end an inlet, spaced superposed shelves across the interior of the container and each shelf having passages therethrough, a fan at the inlet for forcing air into the chamber, means for dividing the air into divisional currents, power driven means for rotating the container.

7 A drying apparatus, comprising a rotary container having a substantially cyl1ndrical wall with a door closable entrance, said container having'in its upper end an outlet and having in its lower end an inlet, spaced superposed shelves across the interior of the container and each shelf having passages therethrough, a fan at the inlet for forcing air into the chamber, a separator in the chamber above the inlet for dividing the air into divisional currents, and power driven means for rotating the container.

8. A drying apparatus, comprising a roand tary container'having a substantially cylindrical wall with a door closable entrance, said container having at its upper end spaced outlets and having in its lower end an inlet, means for forcing air through the inlet into the chamber, means in the chamber above the inlet for dividing the air into divisional currents, a motor, and means operative by the motor for rotating the chamber.

9. A drying apparatus, comprising a rotary container having a substantially cylindrical wall with a door closable entrance, said container having at its upper end spaced outlets and having in its lower an inlet, a fan at the inlet for forcing air into the chamber, a perforated plate inthe chamber for dividing the air into divisional currents, a motor, and means operative by the motor for rotating the chamber.

10. A drying apparatus, comprising a r0- tary container havmg a substantially cylindrical wall with a door closable entrance, said container having at its upper end spaced outlets and having in its lower end an inlet, a fan at the inlet for forcing air into the chamber, a perforated plate in the chamber above the inlet for dividing the air into divisional currents, a motor, and means operative by the motor for rotating the chamber.

CHARLES MILLER.

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